Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) -- The Bills got their first practice under new Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt. Trent Edwards said he got a call from Dick Jauron Friday morning telling him of the move. Edwards said, "It was a surprise to me. We had worked together for awhile. I expressed my feelings to him and now we're at a point where we need to look forward. I don't think it was about me. I think it was about the offense as a whole. We had voiced some things with what direction it was going and where we needed to go." As far as his relationship with Turk Schonert Edwards said, "It was great. I have a lot of respect for him and I still do. I don't have anything against him it's just unfortunately it wasn't going in the direction we needed to go." You have to wonder how much input Edwards or other players had in the firing. Edwards said, "Coach Jauron and I share a very close relationship. It's every day interactions with him, it's a combination of everyone as a whole, every player on the offense, every coach, everyone within the organization talks to him and that decision was made based on that collective conversation."
Schonert told John Murphy that Jauron had been on his back all spring to simplify the offense. Schonert told Murph that Jauron wants a Pop Warner offense. Edwards said, "That was one of the reasons. It's a combination of a couple of other reasons, but in terms of where our Head Coach wants to take this offense, a number one goal of his and that's something Alex is focused on right now and our offense as a whole needs to do that."
Van Pelt has been Edwards quarterbacks coach and the QB believes in him totally, "I've bought in since day one. He's been in my corner, he's been a great coach for me, he's someone I'm very close with and were excited about the opportunity we have ahead of us."
Van Pelt used to relay Schonert's calls to the quarterbacks on the field. Van Pelt is going to move upstairs and have Ryan Fitzpatrick relay the plays to Edwards helmet.
It's been a whirlwind few days for the new Offensive Coordinator. Van Pelt said, "It's been hectic. It was a surprise but we don't have time to dwell on it. We've just got to move forward and get ready for the big game on Monday night and that's kind of the approach we've taken. Let it sink in briefly and then get to work." Van Pelt wouldn't say how he would call the offense, but he did say it'll be different from Schonert, "Yeah I've said it in the past too. I think if you have the same offense
and you have three different guys call it, it's going to look completely different. It's just the personality that it takes on as the guy calling the plays. I don't think you have to change the plays. I think they're all good plays and we're running the same thing a lot of other people run in this league it's just how you call it I think it'll make it look a little different."
Lets face it, Edwards has regressed this summer and Van Pelt is his position coach. One could argue that Van Pelt answered to Schonert and had his hands tied. As far as if Van Pelt can move Edwards forward he said, "Yeah I think so. I don't think the preseason is indicative to the type of player that Trent is. We went into those games without a real solid game plan and a lot of preparation. We were still in our camp mode. Given the time we have before Monday night I feel like we'll have him ready to go and he'll have good understanding of what we're expecting from them and what we're expecting from us offensively. And I think whenever we try to give him answers to the test before he takes the test, he responds very well."
Dick Jauron confirmed an ESPN report that he flew to Detroit yesterday to meet with owner Ralph Wilson. Jauron said, "Yes, we did. We had a real good meeting. We had a really good day." On if the meeting was specifically about the offensive changes, "Well absolutely. There's a new coordinator. He wanted to meet us all and we all flew over there. It was really a terrific day for all of us." On if he felt that Mr. Wilson was comfortable with the decision "Yeah I did. I felt like he was pretty comfortable before we got there. He's known Alex for a long time, but he hasn't known him as his Offensive Coordinator, and he wanted to talk to him, he wanted to talk to Eric and he wanted to talk to me and Russ. It was really a good day."
The Bills hit the field at 3:00. Things were supposed to end at 4:45, but were extended to 5:05. Not practicing today were Drayton Florence, Demetrius Bell, Derek Fine, Chris Kelsay and Spencer Johnson.
Buffalo has two former draft picks on its eight man practice squad. This year's 6th rounder, CB Cary Harris out of USC has been signed as has 2008 5th rounder LB Alvin Bowen out of Iowa State. Others are TE Jonathan Stupar, DT Corey Mace, RB Bruce Hall, OL Nick Hennessey and WR's Felton Huggins and C.J. Hawthorne.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR/QUARTERBACKS COACH ALEX VAN PELT
Practice - Sunday, September 6, 2009
On what the last couple of days has been like for him:
It's been hectic. It was a surprise but we don't have time to dwell on
it. We've just got to move forward and get ready for the big game on
Monday night and that's kind of the approach we've taken. Let it sink in
briefly and then get to work.
On how eager or hesitant he is of the change with the short period of
time before New England:
We have a system in place that we all feel good about and we all
collectively put it in and went through it in the offseason so I don't
know if there's anything really that needs to be changed. But I don't
think it's going to help any of us to talk about what we're going to do
on Monday night so as far as we're thinking we're just going to move
forward and keep that between us until Monday night.
On if he'll call the game differently than former Offensive Coordinator
Turk Schonert:
Yeah I've said it in the past too. I think if you have the same offense
and you have three different guys call it, it's going to look completely
different. It's just the personality that it takes on as the guy calling
the plays. I don't think you have to change the plays. I think they're
all good plays and we're running the same thing a lot of other people
run in this league it's just how you call it I think it'll make it look
a little different.
On if he feels the offense needs to be simplified to be more efficient:
We want to be efficient no matter what we do and I think the best way
for us to do that is to make it easier for the players and let them play
fast and play with confidence. And if that's simplifying it and we're
efficient then that's effective.
On if he's nervous:
Sure, absolutely. Yeah I'm nervous. I don't think anybody in my
position wouldn't be nervous, but also very excited.
On him being able to help QB Trent Edwards move forward now that he's in
control of the offense:
Yeah I think so. I don't think the preseason is indicative to the type
of player that Trent is. We went into those games without a real solid
game plan and a lot of preparation. We were still in our camp mode.
Given the time we have before Monday night I feel like we'll have him
ready to go and he'll have a good understanding of what we're expecting
from them and what we're expecting from us offensively. And I think
whenever we try to give him answers to the test before he takes the
test, he responds very well.
On how the play calling will now be relayed:
Actually I'm going to move upstairs. I think it's just better for me to
be up there in an atmosphere away from everything. You can see it so
much better upstairs. When I did call it in Germany, I felt really
comfortable up there. You take some of the communication you just have
to put it through somebody else and that guy on the sideline's going to
be (QB) Ryan Fitzpatrick, so it'll be a similar voice that we hear in
our room all week. We'll talk the same language and Ryan will pass it on
to Trent and that'll allow me to get upstairs and remove myself from the
sideline and focus on the field.
On if he'll be calling the plays on game day and Running Backs Coach
Eric Studesville will coordinate the running game during the week:
Yes he will coordinate the run game during the week and let us know what
runs we feel are best that week. Throughout the course of the game, I'm
going to lean heavily on him as far as what runs to run and he and
(Offensive Line Coach Sean) Kugler will get together and we'll talk in
between series and say 'hey maybe at this time let's get into this look
and try these runs' and that's where I'll lean heavily on those guys in
the run game.
On if there's a familiarity for him being a former quarterback and being
used to the 'no huddle':
Yeah I definitely think so. Anytime you play this position you're always
calling plays in your head. I've been doing it for a long time in my
head. I had a chance to do it in Germany and now I'll have a chance to
do it again. As a quarterback I think you have to see the game through
the quarterbacks eyes really and I think that'll give me an advantage
calling plays thinking the way Trent will think.
On how long it'll take him to get the players to "buy into" what he
thinks this offense should be:
We don't have long. We don't have long and talking to them today I want
them to be open with me and communicate back with us as a staff as to
what we like, what we don't like. I think the biggest thing is making
them feel comfortable with what we're going to call and why we're going
to call it, and I think if they feel good about it then we'll go out and
execute.
QUARTERBACK TRENT EDWARDS
Practice - Sunday, September 6, 2009
On the change in Offensive Coordinator:
First of all it was a surprise to me. We worked together for awhile now
and I got a call Friday morning from Coach Jauron saying that he was
moving forward with letting Turk go and that was his decision. I
expressed my feelings on the matter with him over the phone and we're at
a point now where we need to look forward. We have a game in eight days,
a week from tomorrow night and we have to be ready to go.
On if he needed a change:
I don't think it was really about me. I think it was about the offense
as a whole. I think that with what direction it was going and where we
needed to go, I think that Coach Jauron made the decision on how he felt
and what he thought the offense needed best and that's the decision he
made. That's something he decided to go with and that's something I
respect.
On his relationship with Turk Schonert:
It was great. I have a lot of respect for him and I still do. I don't
have anything against him. Unfortunately the offense wasn't going the
direction that we needed to go, and now where it's at right now, we need
to move forward, be ready to play a week from tomorrow night and I think
we'll be ready to go.
On making the transition in a short period of time:
I feel like we have coachable plays and that's what I feel you need in
this situation. I feel like we have guys that want to win and that comes
from being coachable. I think we have players in place that are willing
to listen to a new voice and that's what we need to do. We need to do
that fast, listen to new things and that's kind of what we're doing
right now.
On if he felt his concerns weren't addressed previously:
No. Coach Jauron and I share a very close relationship and we talk about
football and personal stuff all of the time. Every day I'm interacting
with him and I think it's a combination of everyone as a whole, every
player on the offense, every coach and everyone within the organization
talked to Coach Jauron and that decision was based on that collective
conversation.
On if a level of concern was raised with how the offense was working:
You have to look at it like we need to score points, we need to be in
rhythm and we hadn't done that the past couple of weeks. There was no
saying that we weren't going to be able to do that without Turk here,
but that's the decision the head coach made and that's something that is
a little above my pay grade. But I'm in a situation where I'm a player
and I'm paid to play on the football field and not paid to make coaching
decisions. I'm really looking forward to Monday night and I think that's
kind of the attitude that everyone on this team is looking at.
On if there is a need to simplify for the offense:
I think that was maybe one of the reasons along with a combination of
other reasons, but in terms of the direction that our head coach wants
to take our offense, that's the number one goal of his and that's
something Alex is focused on right now and our offense as a whole needs
to be able to do that. So that's definitely a theme that needs to be
carried out throughout this offense.
On if the offense needs to adapt Alex's system right away or take a wait
and see approach:
For me personally, I've bought in since Day One. He's been in my corner,
he's been a great coach for me, he's someone I'm very close within this
organization and I'm excited and I know he's excited about the
opportunity we have ahead of us. It's going to be a lot work but
there's' no reason we can't do it.
On if he noticed a difference today:
Obviously it was a lot quieter. Turk's not here, we had a lot of guys
that were released over the weekend so it was a little bit quieter. It's
Sunday afternoon and you notice that the past couple of years, it's the
first day after cuts are made and it's always a little bit quieter.
On if he noticed a difference in the offense today:
I think it's early to tell... I think as a whole, it'll go the direction
we need it to go. And again, all along, I need to reiterate that we're
looking forward to Monday night, we're looking forward to a great season
and we need to be ready to go on Monday night.
On working with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on receiving the play calls:
Very comfortable. That's what I noticed today was when Ryan was calling
the plays. He's in my helmet now and Alex is telling Ryan the play now.
And it's a little bit different hearing his voice obviously, but within
probably more than anyone in this organization he's obviously my right
hand man. Now he's in the helmet and I feel very comfortable. I feel he
sees things the same things I do and that's nice to have a guy like that
saying those things to you.
HEAD COACH DICK JAURON
Practice - Sunday, September 6, 2009
On DE Chris Kelsay not being at today's practice:
That's right. Same thing. Same situation. He should be back soon.
On the status of DT Spencer Johnson:
Spencer (Johnson) had the contusion and it just wasn't loosening up for
him. He took a helmet in the game and just wasn't ready to go today so
we didn't want to push it too much, but he should be ok.
On it being in the thigh:
Yes.
On the status of CB Drayton Florence:
Still pretty good. Bud's (Carpenter) fairly optimistic on that for
Wednesday.
On if he, GM Russ Brandon, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Alex
Van Pelt and Running Game Coordinator/Running Backs Coach Eric
Studesville met with Mr. Wilson on Saturday:
Yes, we did. We had a real good meeting. We had a really good day.
On if the meeting was specifically about the offensive changes:
Well absolutely. There's a new coordinator. He wanted to meet us all and
we all flew over there. It was really a terrific day for all of us.
On if he felt that Mr. Wilson was comfortable with the decision:
Yeah I did. I felt like he was pretty comfortable before we got there.
He's known Alex (Van Pelt) for a long time, but he hasn't known him as
his Offensive Coordinator, and he wanted to talk to him, he wanted to
talk to Eric (Studesville) and he wanted to talk to me and Russ
(Brandon). It was really a good day.
On if Alex Van Pelt has the title Offensive Coordinator:
I'd say he's the Offensive Coordinator.
On if simplifying the offense will help the offense to be more
productive:
We'll find out. But I like the direction we're going in. I like that.
And I think people are excited and we'll see where it goes.
On how he expects Van Pelt to change the productivity of the offense
versus Turk Schonert:
You're asking me what we'll do differently and I'm not going to respond
to that. But we're excited about the prospect in front of us. We're
excited about the great challenge. We know how good this team (New
England Patriots) is. We certainly know it's not easy playing them ever.
They are very talented, very deep. very well-coached and well put
together.
On Van Pelt calling the plays differently from Schonert:
Well if you had the same offense, the same offensive game plan, and
three or four different people call it, you're going to get a different
look every game from those guys, so it'll be different.
On the release of RB Dominic Rhodes:
There was no move that we made that was an easy move yesterday. And that
wasn't an easy move but we believe in the guys that we kept obviously
and that's why we kept them. But again we'll move forward from there and
we wish Dominic the best. He's a good player.
On if he's concerned about his depth at running back going into the
first three games:
Wish we had five. Wish we could take seven in and 80 players, but we
can't. I like the guys we kept and we'll get them ready and we'll go.
On why he decided to keep the extra defensive back than what he's done
in the past:
It's really no different than what we've always talked about. You don't
just have a set numbers. Say we're going to keep this many of this and
this and this. You've got to look and see where you think you're most
talent is and go light in some situations or some places to keep a
little more depth somewhere else if you think the guy's good enough
because it just makes sense to us and that's what we did.
On if T Demetrius Bell will be ready to practice this week:
I think he is but we'll have to wait and see. We're not shooting for any
time earlier than Wednesday though with him.
On if there were any injuries in today's practice:
No.
WIDE RECEIVER LEE EVANS
Practice - Sunday, September 6, 2009
On his general thoughts of the change at the Offensive Coordinator
position:
I think it's going to be good. I was excited to come in here today to
see what changes were going to be made and how things were going to be
different. I'm certainly excited about it and we're moving forward.
On if he expressed any concerns about the offense:
I think everybody had some concerns about it. It was one of those things
that when you play games like that it leaves that kind of feeling in
your mouth. You always wonder if there's something wrong and you want to
do things efficiently. Two back-to-back games not playing well always
causes some concerns.
On if he thought a change would have been made:
No, I didn't. It was surprising. It definitely shocked everybody, but I
think the important thing now is moving forward from this and making the
best of what we've got right now. I think we still have a really good
chance, I like the moves that have been made, so we just have to make it
work now.
On starting on a fresh page:
So to speak. I think now everybody is in tune with what's going on and
we have to be because everybody affected a little bit by this. Everybody
has to step up and do a little bit more. Everybody is involved.
On his relationship with Turk Schonert and if he feels he could have
performed better in a different offense last year:
I had a good relationship with Turk. We never had any problems or
anything like that. It's really hard for me to comment on exactly what
happened because I don't even know. I think the basis of it is that
things weren't getting done the right way. And that was the cause of the
change.
On his thoughts of Alex Van Pelt and what he can bring to the offense:
I think he has some really good things to say about the direction of the
offense and he basically said that you can have the same offense, but if
you have the same offense and three different people calling things then
the offense is going to look different... .going into Monday Night, I'm
going to be excited to play.
On if there is enough time to prepare for New England Van Pelt calling
the plays:
There's enough time because the plays haven't changed. It's still
executing the same plays. It's just how he calls the game is going to be
different.
WIDE RECEIVER TERRELL OWENS
Practice - Sunday, September 6, 2009
On what he makes of the firing of Turk Schonert:
I mean it's coach's decision. I'm sure it was a surprise to everyone.
Only the coach can make a decision like that and as a team we just live
with it, respect the decision and move forward.
On if he's worried that this might be a distraction and set the offense
back:
No not at all. I think we have enough capable guys and I think everybody
will take accountability for what they do out there on the football
field and go accordingly. Other than that, obviously we knew as of
Friday what had happened so we've had a couple of days to kind of assess
that situation and now we've got to move forward.
On if there were any differences that he could see with Alex Van Pelt
running things:
I mean we just came to work as usual so as far as any difference you
know we haven't played under Alex so you'll see that Monday night.
On if there's no concern at all that a change was made so close to the
regular season with such a key position:
No not at all. I mean it's no different than a guy playing football and
they get cut. Sometimes that's the unexpected and you have to just move
forward. This is the nature of the business and it happens to players,
it happens to coaches.
On his impressions of Alex Van Pelt and his potential as a play caller:
Well I haven't experienced it so obviously this is new for myself this
is my first year so I'm just kind of riding the wave right now.
On if he experienced the questioning of the no huddle offense:
I only played five plays in the preseason. I'm sure everybody was aware
of my little tweets so I mean I just tried to have fun with it. So
anything that ever goes wrong with every team that I've played for I've
been to blame, so I took it upon myself to take the blame.
On if he feels there was a need for simplifying the play calling based
on his experience in practice:
I can't really say. I can't make that assessment. Practice is practice.
You're going to have plays where you repeat, you're going to have plays
where you execute them the way you want to. That's what practice is all
about. Nothing's ever going to go the way you want to in practice that's
the purpose of it so once you get into that game time situation that's
when you kind of make those adjustments you know play by play, series by
series. Other than that, I can't give you guys a gauge on what's
different and what's not different.
On if there's anything Alex Van Pelt can do to make this offense execute
better than it had been:
Well those guys are coaches and they don't go out there and make the
plays. All they do is call them, we have to go out there and execute
them so it doesn't really matter. (Anyone) can go out there and call
the plays, so if we know what we're supposed to do and we're not doing
it then 'hey who's to blame'? So I think the guys that are out here,
like I said, we've had a couple of days to assess the situation, we have
to take accountability, we have to go out there and jell with one
another and go out there and play on Monday night.
On if it's all about the players to step their game up to make Van
Pelt's job a little easier:
I'm sure that would be the thinking of Alex, yeah, to go out there and
have us go out there and execute, and everything pans out the way he
wants it to and what he expects of us. Again, this is going to be a
little bit of a transition for us. I think that the days that we have
practice time we can get those things down and go out, and execute in
practice and then transfer it to the game.
To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 1 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 2 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; tournament; WGR; Jeremy White; Golf; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 3 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 4 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 5 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 6 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 7 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 8 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala;
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